EXP01-2014

Yesterday I attended a book reading by David Sedaris. After his reading, there was a book signing. He signed my copy of When You Are Engulfed in Flames and drew a cat that looks kind of like a beaver. (Side note: I wish I had remembered to bring Holidays On Ice for him to sign. It's actually much funnier than his latest book.)

He also gave me a condom. Seriously.


As I was giddily, fan-girlishly leaving the Wharton Center, I inspected the little blue packet. The expiration date read "EXP01-2014". It's not often that I see a date that is far into the future. It made me think what my life would be like in January 2014.

In January 2014, I will be 25 years old. I will be in my fourth year of medical school, unless I take time off to do other things. I will have long since completed my undergraduate degrees in Human Biology and Comparative Cultures and Politics. That's about all I know at this point.

But I wonder about a lot of things, some significant and others not , some personal and some not:

Will David Sedaris still even be popular in a little more than four years from now?
What medical specialty will I choose? (Will I actually be in medical school??)
Will I have short hair?
Where will I be living??
What will be the most pressing political issues? Will some form of health care reform be enacted? What will be the extent of climate change? What
How many of my friends will be -- gasp -- married?
Which of my friends now will still be my friends?